Russia

"Rus" may derive
from the name of a tribe that gained political ascendancy in Kiev and
other Slavic towns and lent its name to the language, culture, and
state. Some scholars believe this to have been a Varangian (Viking) clan
from Scandinavia, and others hold that it was a Slavic tribe. Some
historians believe that "Rus" derives from an ancient name for the Volga
River.

People ethnically
identified as Russians have been politically and culturally dominant in
a vast area for five hundred years of tsarist and Soviet imperial
expansion. However, despite repression of their cultural autonomy,
minority cultures have survived within the Russian Federation; including
the peoples of the North Caucasus, numerous indigenous groups in
Siberia, the Tatars in the Volga region, and the East Slavic Ukrainians
and Belorusians. The last three groups are widely dispersed throughout
the federation. All but the youngest citizens share a Soviet cultural
experience, since under Communist Party rule the state shaped and
controlled daily life and social practice. Much of that experience is
being rejected by Russians and non-Russians who are reclaiming or
reinventing their ethnic or traditional pasts; many communities are
asserting a specific local identity in terms of language and culture.
There is a broad cultural continuity throughout the federation and among
the millions of Russians in the newly independent republics of Central
Asia, the Baltic region, and the Caucasus.